Local filmmakers and documentarians always look forward to the Hawaii International Film Festival every fall to showcase their work in an important setting. Film festival turns
spotlight on isle works'Ke Kulana' examines isle gay identity
HIFF FACTS
By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comAll local productions in this year's Hawaii Panorama series will be screened mainly at the Hawaii Convention Center.
Aaron Yamasato's audacious and gung-ho "Blood of the Samurai" is one of the highlights of the series. Along with Yamasato's movie, two other videos will be have their own showcase screenings: Edgy Lee's well-received documentary "Waikiki: In the Wake of Dreams" and the intriguing "Ke Kulana He Mahu: A Sense of Place," about the transgendered and homosexual communities that reside within the Pacific Triangle. It was co-directed by Kathryn Xian and Brent Anbe, who just had his related short "Special" screened at the recent 'Ohina Short Film Showcase.
"Waikiki" will screen at 12:15 p.m. today at the Convention Center and at noon and 2:30 p.m. Thursday. "Ke Kulana He Mahu" (reviewed on facing page) will be shown at 6 p.m. Sunday and 3:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts Theatre.
The rest of the series will include programs of two or three videos. Highlights at the Convention Center include:
>> "Kahului Railroad Stories" -- A documentary about Maui's first-and-last railroad, in operation for nearly 90 years, from the days of the Kingdom in 1879, through statehood and its close in 1966. Two music-related documentaries are also on the program: "Keoni Kalo: A Mele Inoa for Jean Charlot" featuring the late Irmgard Aluli, and "Local Divas: Behind the Voices" with Carole Kai, Loyal Garner, Melveen Leed and Nohelani Cypriano. Screens at noon tomorrow, and 2:45 p.m. Monday.
>> "Coat of Eyes: A Glimpse of the Snow Leopard" -- Regular festival contributor Kristin Zambucka returns with a 5-minute short featuring the only footage ever shot of this rare and endangered creature that lives in the mountainous region of Central Asia. Other documentaries on the program include "Documenting Sovereignty," "Frontiers in Immigration: Okinawans in Hawaii," "Faces of the Spirits: The Sulka People of Papua New Guinea" and "Kuikawelo -- Family Connections," about a delegation of students and teachers from the Kamehameha Schools who traveled to Tahiti and Rapa Nui two years ago. Screens at 5:15 p.m. today, and 12:15 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
>> "Code Chaotic" -- A drama about two childhood friends who write a code of friendship, in hopes it lasts. But the code backfires when an ex-boyfriend reenters their lives. Produced by the all-female production company Epiphany Films, this film stars Lena Kaneshiro, Adam Jung and Po'okelo award-winner Dorothy Stamp. Two shorts, "Madman's Bargain" and "Entrée Nous," round out the program. Screens 7:45 p.m. Saturday, and 12:15 p.m. Tuesday.
>> "Na Himeni O Ka Ekalesia (Hymns of the Church)" -- The musical traditions of little and out-of-the-way churches throughout the state are featured in this documentary made by a KHON-TV production crew. "Holo Mai Pele" gets another public viewing, its third this year (a special Hawaii Theatre screening and national PBS/Great Performances airing of the powerful hula created by the Kanaka'ole sisters preceded), with "Na Himeni" at 2:45 p.m. Sunday and 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.
>> Hawaii Public Television's Stuart Yamane will have his documentary "Journey of Honor" world-premiered at the festival. It tells of how 12 Hawaii World War II veterans returned to the battlefields of Italy after 55 years. Screens at 5 p.m. Sunday and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 11.
>> Two Hawaii/U.S. co-productions about slack-key music will also be featured. "Kiho'alu" is an intimate portrait of master guitarist Raymond Kane, and "Bla Pahinui -- Windward Heart" includes new interviews with the musician intercut with footage of a rare televised concert performance by Pahinui at the 1987 Slack-Key Festival. The two documentaries are paired in a program that may include a brief, live concert by Pahinui. At 5 p.m. Monday and noon Tuesday.
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